Container conveying apparatus



l. H. Rlssl-:R

CONTAINER CONVEYING APPARATUS Jan. A18, 193s.

Filed Jan; 23, 1937 /I/ENTOR /m/V ,1e/555k Cil Patented Jan. 18, 1938PATENT OFFICE CONTAINER CONVEYING APPARATUS Ivan H. Risser,

Chicago, Ill., assignor to U. S.

Bottlers Machinery C0., Chicago, Ill., a corporation of IllinoisApplication January 23, 19-37, Serial No. 12:1,9-28

4 Claims.

This invention relates to container conveying apparatus, and moreparticularly pertains to such apparatus in connection with means fortreating bottles, such as bottle cleaning or washing machines.

Generally, the invention aims to provide improved bottle positioning orholding means for such apparatus, wherein the possibility of breaking orotherwise damaging the bottles as they are fed to the apparatus, orcarried thereby, or discharged therefrom, is greatly eliminated.

More particularly, the object is to provide the simplest and mostinexpensive bottle positioning or holding means for intermittentlydriven bottle conveyors adapted to intermittently advance the bottlesthrough the machine in inverted position, whereby the bottles will beresiliently held in such position on the conveyor by their necks withoutthe possibility of the bottles breaking at the base of their neckportions by motion imparted thereto upon said movement of the conveyor.

One of the advantages attained by the invention, is that frail bottles,such as those with long thin necks, may be intermittently advancedthrough the machine more rapidly than heretofore made possible so thattreatment of the bottles will be expedited.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent by reference to thespecification and the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a fragmentary side view of a bottle washing machine, showingone form of the invention applied thereto, with parts broken away andparts in section to more clearly disclose certain parts otherwisehidden.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail plan section of Fig. 1, as may be takensubstantially on the section line 2-2 of said figure, with certainelements being omitted. Y

Fig. y3 is a detail section taken the section line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail section taken substantially on the sectionline 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Referring to Figs. l, 2 and 3, the Washing machine, generallyillustrated for the purpose of this application, includes an endlessbottle conveyor comprising a series of interconnected carrier members orcleats 2, in the form of channel pieces, mounted at their ends uponlinks 3 of laterally spaced endless sprocket chains 4 which are arrangedto travel in upper and lower horizontal stretches by being trained overdrive sprockets 5, respectively, at the right hand end of the stretches,and supported over upper and substantially on lower idler sprockets 6and 'l at the left hand end of the stretches, as seen in Fig. 1. Thedrive sprockets 5 are secured on a drive shaft 8 which is driven tointermittently advance the conveyor, so that the cleats 2 are moved fromleft to right when in the upper stretch of the conveyor, by means of arotating power shaft 9 on which is an eccentric device l0, arranged tooperate, through a connecting rod II, an oscillating lever l2 fulcrumedon the drive shaft 8 and having a weighted pawl I4 for operating aratchet wheel l5 fixed on the drive shaft 8.

Each cleat is provided with a row of bottle receivers I6 for receivingand supporting a row of bottles in inverted position upon the upperstretch of the conveyor, and, as the cleats are about to be advancedinto the upper stretch of the conveyor, the receivers thereon arebrought into cooperative relation with a bottle feeder head Il arrangedto automatically feed a row of bottles thereto. Then as the transverserows of bottles are intermittently advanced on the conveyor they arebrought into cooperative relation, successively, over two liquid cleanerheads I3 and I9 which direct jets of water into the bottles to cleansame.

The cleaner heads are of common construction, comprising two laterallyspaced pipes carrying water under pressure, and with each pipe having arow of upright nozzles 2li for directing the jets of Water into thebottles.

After passing over the cleaner heads the bottles are caused to remain onthe conveyor a sufficient length of time in order that they may beproperly drained before being discharged or otherwise removed from theconveyor.

Although the feeder head is of ordinary construction, it may be statedthat it comprises a shelf inclined downward toward the receiving end ofthe conveyor, and having a. series of laterally spaced troughs 2l withinwhich the bottles are placed in reclining position with their neckspointing downward in register with a row of receivers I6 of a cleat,between each advance of the conveyor. Between the shelf and conveyor isa gate 22 for retaining the bottles in the troughs of the shelf whilethe conveyor is in motion, and being operably connected with theconveyor to be lowered so as to effect release of the bottles by forceof gravity to the receivers i6 when the conveyor is at rest. The gatecomprises an elongated arcuate segment having each end secured to anoscillating bell-crank 23 which is operated, to raise and lower the gateas stated,

2 c by the power shaft 9 on which is a suitably formed cam 24 operatinga lever 25 which is connected by a link 26 with a bell-crank 21 arrangedto operate the bell-crank 23 through a link 28.

In accordance with the main object of the invention, the bottlereceivers IB are formed and arranged to resiliently hold the bottles inposition on the cleats of the conveyor by their necks. To this end, eachreceiver comprises an open-ended pocket in the form of a tubular sectionof slightly resilient material, such as slightly resilient rubber, whichis adapted to snugly receive the neck portion 29 of a bottle, and havingits receiving end tapered or countersunk, asl at 3B, providing a seatfor supporting the shoulder portion 3| of the bottle adjacent its neck.Each pocket is mounted on its conveyor cleat by having a flat lateralmounting flange 32 integrally formed therewith about its seat-end, withthe ange being secured on the top side of the cleat by bolts 33, withthe cleat having an aperture 34 through which the pocket projects so asto be normally in coaxial alignment with a cleaner nozzle when advancedinto position thereover. The flange is thicker than the side-walls ofthe tubular portion forming the pocket so that the pocket will becapable of flexing in a swivel-like manner with respect to the flange,to absorb vibratory action of the bottle therein during normal operatingconditions of the machine, without changing the normal position of theseat of the pocket. A bottle supported in a pocket will then be capableof slightly oscillating or swiveling therewith by force of initialmovement or momentum imparted to the body portion of the bottle as sameis'intermittently advanced with the conveyor, and whereby during suchvibratory action of the bottle when advanced into position over acleaner nozzle the base portion 35 of its neck will remain substantiallycentrally 1ocated over the nozzle, to insureproper entry of the jet ofwater from the nozzle into the body'portion of the bottle.

The bolts 33 are receivedin apertures, or bolt holes, in the flange ofeach pocket, which holes are arranged at a considerable distance fromthe pocket, whereby the inner portion of the 4flange adjacent the pocketwill be capable of flexing on the cleat with the vpocket in the eventsame has been tilted beyond the angle it ordinarily assumes with respectto the cleat, during normal vibratory action of the bottle in thepocket, as may be caused by the bottle being bumped accidentally by anattendant.

Thus the resilient pockets will gradually arrest any vibratory actionimparted tothe bottles by intermittent movement of the conveyor, wherebyany bending strain effected at the base of the necks of the bottles willbe greatly minimized-and whereby the possibility of the'bottlesbreakingat their necks will be practically eliminated.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. The combination with a bottle conveyor, of a bottle receiving pockettherefor comprising a tubular portion of rubber adapted to receive theneck portion of a bottle and having an integral flat mounting flangeformed about its receiving end, the side-walls of the pocket beingthinner than the flange whereby the pocket will be capable of aswivel-like action with respect to said flange, and the flange havingits outer portion secured to the conveyor whereby the inner portion ofthe flange adjacent the pocket will be capable of flexing with respectto the conveyor when the pocket has been flexed or tilted beyond acertain angle with respect to said inner portion of the flange.

2. The combination with a bottle conveyor, of a bottle receiving pockettherefor comprising a y tubular portion of rubber adapted to receive theneck of a bottle and having an integral flat mounting flange formedabout one end thereof, the flange being thicker than the side-wall ofthe pocket whereby the pocket will be capable of a swivel-like actionwith respect to said flange, and the flange having its outer portionxedly secured to the conveyor whereby the innerportion of the flangeadjacent the pocket will be capable of flexing with the pocket withrespect to the conveyor when the pocket has been flexed beyond a certainangle with respect to said inner portion of the flange.

3. The combination with a bottle conveyor, of a-bottle receiving pockettherefor comprising a tubular portion of rubber adapted to snuglyreceive the neck of a bottle, with one end of said tubular portion beingcountersunk to provide a seat for the shoulder of the bottle adjacentitsneck, and said tubular portion having a flat lateral mounting flangeformed integral therewith in the plane of its seat, said flange beingthicker than the side-walls of the pocket to permit the pocket to tiltin a swivel-like manner with respect to the flange and seat, and saidflange having its outer portion secured to the conveyor whereby theinner portion of the flange adjacent the pocket will be capable offlexing on the conveyor with the pocket when same has been tilted beyonda certain angle on the inner portion of the flange.

4. A bottle receiving pocket for bottle conveyors comprising a tubularportion of rubber adapted to snugly receive the neck of a bottle withone end of'the said portion being countersunk to provide a seat for theshoulder of the bottle adjacent its neck, and said tubular portionhaving a flat lateral mounting flange formed integral therewith in theplane of its seat, said flange being thicker than the Vside-walls of thepocket whereby the pocket will be capable of flexing in a swivel-likemanner with respect to the flange and seat.

IVAN H. RISSER.

